Jennifer Holzhausen's Homework Blog

May 26, 27, 28, 2009 (Finals Week)

Well, we have successfully completed another school year!  Woo-hoo!  Everything is graded and recorded.  My copies of all of the grades are printed and ready to turn in to the Guidance department for the year.  You may contact me over the summer via email at [email protected].  Please know that I will not be checking my email regularly after today, so it may take me a while to get back to you, but I promise that I will respond to you just as soon as I see your message. 

Have an amazing summer!  Bring back some stories to share with me in the fall! :)

Mrs. Northouse

May 24, 2009 (Race Day) Mrs. Northouse's Grading Update

Ok... for those of you who read this regularly, I have an update for you on grades and grading progress.  In all honesty, this is probably more for my own sanity than for yours, but if you are reading, thank you for tuning in. :)  We have friends from out of town who are staying with us this weekend for the race, but I am finding time here and there to get everything done.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!  Yesterday, Jason and I attended a wedding up at Purdue for a former student.  It was incredibly beautiful and made me remember why I do this job - even on my Saturdays and Sundays.  I graded on the drive up, found over an hour at Panera Bread to grade between the wedding and the reception, and graded all the way back home.  Today, I think I have a pretty good handle on all of it.  Here's a breakdown by class so that you know where things stand.

B2 - Honors English 11:

We are so close here! Everything I have is graded with the exception of one journal which is sitting in the blue class folder back at GC in my classroom.  If I had it here, I'd get it done.  (And, trust me, I have actually considered driving over there to get it so that it would be off of my list of things to do Tuesday morning.)  The only other things that need to be graded here are the presentations which will be given on Tuesday.  If all goes as planned, those will be graded as they are given.  Woo-hoo! :)  Everyone else's grades are final and official.

B3 and B4 - English 9:

We're in good shape here and ready to head into the final exam.  Everything I had to grade for these two classes is finished!! :)  On Finals Day, students will be taking the Vocabulary Test for List #2 of the Odyssey (20 points).  I will also be collecting the review sheets (50 points).  I hope to have those graded while everyone is taking the final exam.  Final Drafts of the essays for B3 were finally wrapped up yesterday.  I need to check on an absence situation for B3 on Tuesday, but other than that, I think things are drawing to a close.  The final exams are Scantron, so I am really hoping to get those run through the scanner before I leave on Tuesday evening.

G2 and G4 - English 9:

We are so very close here!  Everything I had to grade for these two classes is finished!! :)  On Finals Day, I will collect the Review Sheet (50 points).  I hope to have those graded and recorded while students are taking the final exam.  The final exams are Scantron, so I am really hoping to get those run through the scanner before I leave on Wednesday evening. 

G3 - W131/Advanced Composition for Seniors:

Whew!  It feels like a marathon race, but we really are getting there!  On Friday, before the end of the day, I had the Comparative Analysis papers finished and recorded.  I will get those to you when I see you on Wednesday.  On the drive up to the wedding, I calculated all of the draft and homework participation grades.  All I have left for you are the Trend Analysis Final Drafts and the Final Presentation Grades.  I hope to get the first set of presentations graded this afternoon so that the ONLY THING LEFT TO GRADE BEFORE WEDNESDAY is the 5-inch stack (I measured it) of Trend papers.  Holy moly. You guys have no idea how happy I will be when those things are done!  Now, looking at Wednesday... I am so glad that we decided to do a pitch-in for lunch.  Be sure to bring food for yourself and food to share if you want to.  We need to wrap up presentations, get papers passed back, and complete some evaluations for IU.  I will need to grade presentations, and I have some official grade reports to do for IU, but you might not see those before you leave for the half day on Thursday.  I may need for some of you to swing by my room to pick that form up on your way out of the building on Thursday.  You should have all of your papers back by then.  My plan is to hand the trends back on Wednesday. (Knock on wood.)  I really don't want to cart them all over Greenfield to graduation parties like I have done in past years. :)  Worst case scenario - I put whatever didn't get picked up by Thursday in your graduation folders.  You would then get those on Saturday with your diplomas. 

Closing Note:

I think that is it for now.  I will update you with more information as I continue to tackle the last two piles for the weekend (G3 only).  Thank you for your patience!!  Have a really great race day and Memorial Day tomorrow!

May 22, 2009 (Gold) SSR Day

G2/G4 - Vocab. Test over Odyssey List #2.  Binder Quiz.  Students were given the rest of the period to work on their Review Sheets for the Final Exam.  Assignment:  Review Sheet, prepare for Final, and remember to bring your textbooks to class with you on Wednesday.

G3 - Final Drafts of the Trend Analysis papers DUE.  Two groups made their final presentations.  My sincere apologies go out to the group that was unable to present today.  We will get it done on Wednesday.  Be sure to remember to bring some food to class with you! :)  Assignment:  Finish final presentations.  Check PowerSchool to see your grade on the Comparative Analysis paper.... they're all done! :)

Have a great weekend!

May 21, 2009 (Blue)

B2 - Students continued their final presentations.  Assignment:  Final Presentations will wrap up on Tuesday.  Be sure to bring your textbook and any other books you have borrowed from me this year.

B3/B4 - Vocabulary List #2 definitions DUE.  We went over those definitions in class so students knew for sure what to study.  The Vocab. test will take place prior to the final and will count toward the 9 weeks grade.  Students who are exempting need to meet with me to take the vocab. test sometime before school is out.  Students took the Binder Quiz in class today.  After the Binder Quiz, they picked up a review sheet for the final exam.  This is a homework assignment and it is worth 50 points (participation).  If they study this, they will be in good shape for the final exam.

Assignment:  Study for the Final Exam.  Study Vocab. List #2 for the Vocabulary Test.  Complete the Review Sheet.  Be sure to bring your textbook and any other books you have borrowed from me this year when you come in for the Final Exam.

May 20, 2009 (Gold) SSR Day

G2/G4 - Collected Vocab. definitions for List #2 and page 1167 ?'s #10-11.  Students who completed the 2 questions were given surprise extra credit for their efforts.  Went over the proper definitions for the vocab. terms so students can study them for the Vocabulary test on Friday.  (Blue is off... if you are reading this for the blue schedule for tomorrow, stick to the blue summary from last time...).  Passed back and recorded graded work.  Students were given some time to organize their binders for the Binder Quiz on Friday.  I distributed the review sheet for the Final Exam, and students were given the rest of the period to begin working on that review sheet.  Assignment:  Vocabulary Test over List #2 from the Odyssey and Binder Quiz on Friday.

G3 - Collected binders.  Students were given the entire block to work on their presentations.  Assignment:  Final Drafts of the Trend Analysis paper are due on Friday.  Presentations will begin on Friday.  If you haven't turned in your binder, I want that on Friday too.

May 19, 2009 (Blue)

B2 - Students began their final presentations today.  Assignment:  Final Presentations will continue on Thursday.  Be sure to have a handout and a copy of your Works Cited list for me when you present.\

B3/B4 - Vocabulary Test: Odyssey List #1.  Passed back and recorded graded work.  Students in B4 were given the opportunity to look at their Research papers.  Those were then filed in the blue folders that will follow them to their next English class.  Today, we read and finished "Test of the Bow" (This worksheet is on the back of the one with the questions for "Suitors") "Death in the Great Hall" ("Death at the Palace" worksheet) and "The Trunk of Olive" ("Odysseus and Penelope" worksheet).  Assignment: Vocabulary List #2 definitions and prepare your binder for the Binder Quiz you will take on Thursday. 

May 18, 2009 (Gold)

G2/G4 - Vocabulary Test: Odyssey List #1.  Passed back and recorded graded work.  Students were given the opportunity to look at their Research papers.  Those were then filed in the blue folders that will follow them to their next English class.  Today, we read and finished "Death in the Great Hall" (Death at the Palace worksheet) and "The Trunk of Olive" (Odysseus and Penelope worksheet).  Assignment: Vocabulary List #2 definitions.  Also, complete questions #10 and #11 from page 1167 on the back of the vocab. sheet.  I am looking for complete and thorough answers here.  Do your best to give me more than a simple answer.

G3 - Returned Trend Analysis rough drafts with brief comments.  Students were given the rest of the period to work on revisions and on their final presentations.  Assignment:  Final Drafts DUE on Friday.  Presentations will begin on Friday as well. 

May 15, 2009 (Blue) SSR Day/Fall Out Boy Day

If everything goes smoothly today, this is the plan:

B2 - Students will be given a list of all of the journal prompts from this semester in order for them to make sure their journals are complete.  Journal Expectations: Write half a page (exactly half a page) about each prompt, provide a title/label so I know which prompt it was, and the date it was assigned.  They will then spend the rest of the period working at a computer on their Final Presentations.  Students will also sign up for their presentation time slots today. Assignment:  Finalize and prepare your Journal for me to grade on Tuesday.  Final Presentations will also begin on Tuesday.

B3/B4 - Vocabulary Worksheet (Crossword, etc.) DUE.  Passed back a small amount of graded work.  Notes: Timeline.  Today, we read quite a bit together.  We covered "Father and Son," "The Beggar at the Manor," "The Suitors" (handout), and in B3, we also covered "The Test of the Great Bow."  Students completed worksheets for all four readings.  Assignment:  Vocabulary test over Odyssey List #1 on Tuesday.  There will be a word bank and students will fill in the word with the appropriate definition.

May 14, 2009 (Gold)

G2/G4 - Vocabulary Worksheet (Crossword, etc.) DUE.  Passed back a small amount of graded work.  Notes: Timeline. Today, we read quite a bit together.  We covered "Father and Son," "The Beggar at the Manor," "The Suitors" (handout), and "The Test of the Great Bow."  Students completed worksheets for all four readings.  Assignment:  Vocabulary test over Odyssey List #1 on Monday.  There will be a word bank and students will fill in the word with the appropriate definition.

G3 - Rough Drafts of the Trend Analysis DUE for my comments.  Students were given the specifications and requirements for their final presentations and were given the entire period to plan and work on them.  By the end of the period, groups had signed up for their final presentation time slots.  These are non-negotiable.  Assignment:  Work on your Final Presentation.  Some students should also continue working on their Trend Analysis papers even though they do not have comments back from me... the final drafts will be due on Friday of next week in order for me to have them graded by Wednesday of finals week (our last day).

May 13, 2009 (Blue) SSR Day

B2 - Public Library Trip #2.  I gave students handouts on creating a bibliography sheet and notes on citing a variety of sources.  Students continued to work on their presentations and research.  Assignment: Keep working on the research and the presentation.  You will have one day in the lab on Friday.  We will take care of the journals on Friday as well.

B3/B4 - Final Drafts of the Research Paper DUE.  Went over the vocabulary words and definitions for List #1.  Read and answered questions for "Sirens... Scylla and Charybdis" and "Cattle of the Sun God" (handout).  Collected the study guides when we finished reading/answering the questions.  These were graded and returned to the students before they left today. Assignment: Vocabulary worksheet (crossword and synonym/antonym activity).  Several students turned the vocab. in before they left.